Subaru Outback

Subaru Outback

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The beauty of the Outback is its ability to almost magically transform itself into exactly whatever its owner requires for a given scenario. Need it to be a capable all-weather transport? No problem. Need a roomy wagon for kids and all their stuff? Check. There is a choice of a 175-hp 2.5-liter flat-four or 256-hp 3.6-liter flat-six, with a continuously variable transmission standard on both. And of course, all-wheel drive is standard, too, offering sure-footed grip and handling. Instrumented Test – 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5

2015 Subaru Outback 2.5

The car that makes Subaru, Subaru.

There’s a high-fiber thread weaving through Subaru that runs contrary to convention. While the station-wagon body style has been experiencing widespread decline and some automakers have abandoned it entirely, plucky Subaru sells four times as many wagons and wagonlike crossovers as it does sedans. Four-wheel drive isn’t just a low-volume upcharge for snow-country denizens or a trendy sub-brand; at Subaru (save for the sporty but slow-selling rear-drive BRZ coupe) all four tires of every car in its lineup contribute to locomotion. You’ll notice we said “car” because Subaru doesn’t sell trucks.

Ergo the Outback wagon. It’s the darnedest thing—as if Subaru’s mid-size wagon evolved on a remote island, protected from the meteoric SUV impact event of the 1990s that made just about all other wagons extinct. Now in its fifth generation, the outdoorsy, not-a-truck Outback has arrived at a place where modest proportions, interior roominess, comfortable seats, great outward visibility, outstanding all-weather traction, and reasonable thrift at the gas pump are desirable traits.

Actually, the Outback evolved from Subaru’s Legacy sedan, so while crossover SUVs it competes with strive for carlike driving attributes, the Outback comes by them naturally. The transition involves some taller-aspect-ratio tires, a few added inches of ground clearance, a roof rack, some strategically placed body cladding, and, of course, the wagon body, which adds less than an inch of additional length and 140 pounds or so of mass.

Take in the View

As with the Legacy, the Outback is available with a 175-hp 2.5-liter flat-four or a 256-hp flat-six, but the four-cylinder is by far the best seller. The four’s relatively thrifty 25-mpg city and 33-mpg highway EPA ratings may have something to do with that. The 2.5-liter delivers adequate performance, with 60 mph arriving in 9.1 seconds. Although that’s a bit slower than the 0-to-60 times achieved by the Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, and Toyota RAV4 with similar-size engines, it’s enough to keep up with traffic while not jostling, say, the flats of marigolds and assorted angiosperms you might carry in the Outback’s generous, 73.3-cubic-foot (with rear seat folded) cargo hold.

About that cargo area: Outback designers didn’t pander to the current design fad of fast-sloping coupe rooflines, so there’s a generously sized rectangular cavity for stuff. Subaru also took a pass on cramming in a vestigial third-row seat for half-size humans. As a result, all of the Outback’s five chairs are adult-rated with ample head- and legroom, and there isn’t a sea of headrests blocking the rearward view (which is augmented by a standard backup camera). Great outward visibility is afforded all around, in fact. Credit in part slimmer A-pillars with small quarter windows just ahead of the side mirrors, which sit on pedestals to help minimize blind spots.

The Outback’s ride height and seating position are more elevated than a sedan’s but not as high as the typical SUV’s. Staying away from monster-truck-grade wheels and tires eliminates the climb up into the cab. Just open a door and sidle onto the generously padded seat.

As for controls, the Outback’s are straightforward, with a big speedo and tach in front and a center stack that sort of recalls a 1970s FM tuner. The 7.0-inch touch screen on our Premium test car was easy to operate even on bumpy roads, with large landing zones for icons and plenty of analog backup in the form of knobs and buttons (unlike, say, the tiny, touch-only ones in the BRZ and the Forester). A temperature or fan-speed change, or an audio volume or tuning task, can be accomplished without multiple finger pecks or eyes-off-the-road menu diving.

Out of the Mainstream

Once you’re strapped into the supportive driver’s seat, some aspects of the Outback experience take getting used to. For one, the flat-four engine has a unique, whirligig sound that’s slightly tinny and seems like it belongs to a much smaller car. And the Outback’s Lineartronic continuously variable transmission lets the engine whine at high revs with heavy throttle stabs. But drive even slightly less aggressively and the CVT quickly trims engine revs in curt steps and does a credible job of mimicking a conventional six-speed automatic in routine part-throttle driving. You can also shift through six simulated “gears” yourself with the steering-wheel paddles.

The Outback’s electrically boosted steering, while not a bastion of feedback, is precise and naturally weighted. Subaru quickened the ratio from 16:1 to 14:1 for 2015, aiding response off-center. The Outback tracks straight and true and doesn’t need a lot of coaching to stay centered in its lane. The relatively tall-section 225/65-17 mud-and-snow tires take the edge off most rough-road impacts. Ride motions are skewed more toward comfort than sport, yet thanks to limited body roll, the Outback doesn’t feel tall or tippy. We managed a respectable 0.81 g of lateral grip on the skidpad. The brakes, the fronts having been upsized from the Legacy’s for Outback duty, are likewise reassuring and easy to modulate, with crisp top-of-pedal response. We reeled off a six-pack of circa-173-foot stops from 70 mph with zero fade.

Being a Subaru, standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive is central to the Outback’s surefooted, mountain-goat persona. The system apportions drive torque continually according to traction and driving conditions, on- or off-pavement. And standard Active Torque Vectoring helps reduce understeer during cornering by braking the inside front wheel.

As far as the Subaru Outback 2.5 wagon is concerned, conventional crossovers and SUVs can take a proverbial hike. One of the last of its kind, the Outback confidently goes its own contrarian way, and while it’s certainly in no hurry about doing so, owners who get that won’t have it any other way.